


A Change of Plans

by LSUsweetie



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Dream Sex, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Smut, Fred Weasley Lives, Friends to Lovers, Harry Potter Epilogue What Epilogue | EWE, Smut, Valentine's Day, fairy safe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-11
Updated: 2021-02-11
Packaged: 2021-03-12 13:07:46
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,816
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29136036
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LSUsweetie/pseuds/LSUsweetie
Summary: When a potions accident gives Fred Weasley a glimpse of what his future could be like, he goes out of his way to set up the perfect date for the witch of his dreams.
Relationships: Hermione Granger/Fred Weasley
Comments: 32
Kudos: 135
Collections: With Love Weasley





	A Change of Plans

**Author's Note:**

  * In response to a prompt by Anonymous in the [With_Love_Weasley](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/With_Love_Weasley) collection. 



> My prompt was surprise date.
> 
> Special thanks to my amazing beta, WrathofMacy. Also, thanks to moonfairy13 for brainstorming with me when I was stuck, and for helping me with choosing a restaurant!

Sighing deeply, Fred stirred the potion mechanically as he considered how to go about getting her to agree to go on a date with him. This particular brew was still very much in the experimental stages, and he knew that it was dangerous to let his mind wander, but he couldn’t seem to help himself. He had a very serious thinking problem lately, and it was all because of a beautiful, bossy, curly-haired witch that he knew.

Absently, he reached for the powdered ginger root, adding it to the potion as he stirred the pale purple liquid in a clockwise motion. With horror, he realised a moment too late that it wasn’t ginger that he’d added. Instead, he’d poured in the moonseed that should have been incorporated after three more steps.

The contents of the cauldron sizzled, bubbled menacingly, and turned a sickly shade of puce. Fred shouted, “Oh, fuck!” a moment before it exploded in his face.

***

Fred awoke slowly. He was incredibly comfortable, snuggled against a warm, soft body. Groggily, he tried to piece together what had happened, but all he could remember was an exploding cauldron. How had he ended up asleep in a bedroom that he didn’t recognise next to a mysterious woman?

As he slowly regained his wits, he realised a few things. The first being that this woman, whoever she was, smelled amazing. It was heaven to be curled around her, bum snug against his groin — a fact that not-so-little Fred had already noticed. That wasn’t just morning wood at work, he was well and fully aroused. 

Shifting slowly, he tried to manoeuvre his body enough that he could see who he was in bed with, but when he did, she stretched like a cat, rocking that sweet arse directly against his crotch. “Mmmm, good morning, love. I see that someone’s already awake,” she murmured in a sexy, sleepy voice while reaching back to palm his erection. 

Fuck! That felt amazing. Was this just an extraordinarily vivid dream brought on by the potions accident, or was this actually happening? Then, the woman next to him rolled over and he was too shocked to make a sound.

“Love, if we’re quick and quiet, we probably have time before the kids wake up. The baby slept all night, so my breasts are engorged and you might get sprayed, but I know that’s never stopped you before.”

He could only stare as Hermione Granger spoke these words to him. But, upon closer inspection, it wasn’t her. At least, not the version of her that he knew so well, and he’d made it his mission to know everything he could about her. She’d been on his mind when the potion exploded. That was it, this had to be some wild dream. Deciding that if he was getting the woman of his dreams, real or not, he was going with it.

Wrapping his arms around her, he didn’t waste time. He crushed his lips against hers, wanting to enjoy as much of this wonderful dream as he could before he woke up. 

She pulled back slightly, moaning as his hands skimmed under the bottom of the silk slip that she wore. “Ohhh, Fred, it’s been too long. I need you.” 

Then in one swift motion, she sat up, shucking off her nightie, and throwing a leg over his waist to sit astride him. His cock bobbed at the sight. She was stunningly beautiful with her sleep tousled hair. And Merlin, she wasn’t wearing any knickers. Apparently, she didn’t sleep with them on. 

“Fuck, you’re gorgeous,” he groaned, skimming his hands up her sides to palm her breasts. But as gorgeous as she was, he couldn’t help but notice the differences between this fantasy Hermione and the younger version of her that existed in reality. This Hermione was softer, with fuller hips, large breasts, and a slightly rounded tummy. He remembered her mentioning a baby. His baby? Gods, he wanted that with her more than anything.

But as she reached down, pulling his cock free from his pants, it became difficult to think straight. And when she sank down on him, joining their bodies like they were made for each other, forming a coherent thought was utterly impossible.

She leaned forward, placing her hands on his chest as she began to rock. Her glorious hair curtained their faces so that she was all that he could see. He briefly mourned the view of her fabulous tits, but soon he was lost in the depths of her whiskey coloured eyes.

His hands roamed her body, cataloging every inch and committing this to memory. When her breath began to come out in short pants, he reached between them and found her clit, swirling his fingers and taking her over the edge. Not able to hold out any longer with her cunt squeezing his cock so perfectly, he quickly followed.

Hermione collapsed on top of him, kissing him deeply as he caressed her back and bum. Oh, how he wished this was his reality. When he woke up, he would have to do something to make sure that this moment was in his future.

A cry suddenly broke the silence, and Hermione kissed his lips softly once more before standing to pull on her discarded nightie. I’m going to go feed Sophie. I think my breasts may actually explode if I don’t.” She laughed then, looking down at the wet spots that were quickly spreading across the silk that she wore. Gesturing to Fred’s chest, she added, “You may want a quick shower now, you know how sticky the milk can get when it starts to dry. You’re on baby duty as soon as she’s fed so I can have my shower too.”

  
  


Fred nodded, thinking that she looked so beautiful, so happy standing there. As she turned to exit the room, he called out, “I love you.”

“I love you too,” she replied easily over her shoulder, smiling sweetly at him. 

***

“Fred, Fred, Fred. Please wake up.”

“Wh… George? What’s going on?”

“You had a potions accident. Something exploded.”

“Oh, yeah.” He sat up slowly, taking note of anything that felt off. But the only thing that was wrong was the sense of emptiness and loss that filled him knowing that Hermione wasn’t his.”

“I’m going to go call Granger, get her to come over and check you out.”

“I’m fine, George, I promise; I don’t need medical attention. But I do need your help with something…”

  
  
  


# *********

  
  


With a wistful restlessness that she didn’t care for, Hermione glanced around her flat. It was Valentine’s Day and, as usual, she was alone. Not that the day itself was particularly special, but it would be nice to have someone interested enough to want to spend it with her. Well, that wasn’t quite it either; the right person needed to be interested enough. There hadn't been a shortage of interest in her after the war, and her continued friendship with Harry had been so highly publicised that she was practically a household name. But she didn't want just anyone, and that was her problem. 

Typically, she scheduled a shift at St. Mungos, filling in for her coworkers who did have dates for the evening. But this year that hadn’t worked out so well. At present, they were short-handed in the Spell Damage ward where she worked, and the other senior-level healer had asked her to switch shifts because he’d wanted the weekend off to take his wife on a romantic holiday to Paris.

Now that her plans to immerse herself in work had failed, she fully intended to spend the evening on her sofa with an obscene amount of chocolate, a bottle of champagne, some takeaway curry, and a new romance novel. 

After a relaxing bath, she dressed in her most comfy pair of pyjamas, and got herself settled on the sofa under a soft blanket. Just as she cracked open her new book and started to read the first page, a familiar Patronus sailed into the room and spoke in George’s voice. “Hermione, please come quickly, it’s Fred.”

As it did each time she received this particular message, her heart raced and she panicked a little. Since she’d become a healer, Fred and George had called upon her frequently when they had inventing accidents, and it hadn’t ever been so bad that she wasn’t able to fix one of them easily, but she feared the day that she couldn’t. Pausing only to step into her shoes and make sure she had her wand and the medical kit she kept next to her fireplace, she flooed over to WWW.

George was waiting for her, and he seemed nervous. The fact that he was worried put her on edge. “Where is he?”

“Upstairs in the flat. Go on up, it’s unlocked. I just need to clear up down here.”

Taking the stairs two at a time, she yanked open the door to their flat and came face to face with a seemingly unscathed Fred Weasley. Knowing that looks could be deceiving, she ignored how her heart fell to her stomach seeing the handsome wizard before her dressed in a navy blue muggle suit. He was obviously ready to go on a date with some lucky witch. 

Quickly, she quashed the emotion and moved forward, determined to be professional so that he could be on his way and she could go home and wallow in self-pity. Godric, why did he have to look so bloody fit in that suit?

“Where are you hurt?” 

“I’m not,” he insisted, shooting her a disarming grin.

“What?” she asked sharply. “Why on earth am I here then? George sent a Patronus.”

He cut her off, “I know. I asked him to.”

She opened her mouth to ask why but he continued before she could get the question out.

“Please Hermione, don’t ask anything else. I have a surprise for you. I promise that it’s a good one, not a prank or anything like that, but we have somewhere to be and we don’t have time for questions now.”

She shot him a disbelieving look. After examining his features, she saw that he was nervous under his confident exterior. Making her decision, she nodded slowly, hoping that it wouldn’t be a mistake. Then, a thought struck. Looking down at her pyjamas, and then up at him in his nice suit, she shook her head. “I can’t go anywhere like this.”

“Don’t worry milady, I have everything covered. Right this way,” he gestured for her to follow him down the hallway where the bedrooms were located.

Entering Fred’s bedroom, Hermione gasped aloud. Laying across the bed was a beautiful red dress. A pair of strappy silver heels were placed next to it along with a cosmetic bag and a case that appeared to hold jewellery. 

“What’s all this?”

“Sorry, no time to explain. Get ready, you have twenty minutes. Our Portkey leaves in half an hour and we can’t be late.” He kissed her lightly on the cheek, squeezed her arm, and then turned to leave. Grinning back at her, he added, “Don’t worry, Angie and Gin took care of all of this, so everything should fit and be appropriate for where we’re going. Now hurry, I promise you’ll be devastated if you miss this opportunity.” With a cheeky wink, he closed the door and she was alone.

Well, she thought she was alone anyway. Suddenly, the adjoining bathroom door flew open. Hermione’s heart pounded as she grabbed for her wand. Logically, she knew that she was in a safe place, but that didn’t stop the automatic response, even years after the war. Whirling around, she came face to face with Angie and Ginny who were both grinning.

“Lower your wand witch, we’re just here to help you get ready,” Ginny laughed.

“Can you please tell me what’s going on?” Hermione pleaded, placing her wand on the bed next to the dress.

“Nope, no time. Into the bathroom with you, change into these.” Angie passed her a few scraps of red lace.

“What? I’m wearing underwear, thank you. Why do I need something like this?” She demanded, holding up the sexy red lace bra and matching thong knickers.

“Because whatever you’ve got on under there,” Ginny gestured to her pyjamas, “will ruin the lines of this gorgeous dress. And you don’t have the time to argue. Get in there and change, now!”

A little dazed, Hermione entered the bathroom. With the door closed behind her, she leaned back against the cool wood, closing her eyes. After a deep, calming breath, she remembered Fred’s words. He’d been insistent that she would be devastated if she missed out on what he had planned. Those words spurred her into action, and she decided then that, whatever came up that evening, she would just go with it.

Quickly donning the lovely new lingerie set, she opened the door and faced her friends. She felt her face grow warm when she was immediately met with catcalls. Ginny whistled before calling out, “Ooh, sexy lady.” 

Angie smiled kindly. “Hermione, red really is your colour, it’s very flattering. You should wear it more often. Now,” she winked, “get over here and let us pamper you. When we’re done, Fred won’t know what hit him.”

With that, Angie guided her to the bed where she sat obediently while Ginny began to apply her makeup, and Angie worked on her hair. 

Considering what Angie had just said, Hermione’s tummy began to flutter. Was this a date? She still didn’t know. “I promise I won’t ask anything about what Fred has planned, but can you tell one thing, please? Is this a date? I mean, does Fred want it to be a date?”

Angie’s voice challenged from out of sight, “Do you want it to be a date?”

She did, but did she want to admit it aloud? What did she have to lose though? These were her friends. In a whisper, she admitted, “Yes, I really do.”

With a gentle hand on her shoulder, Angie spoke in her ear. “He’s asked us not to divulge any details, but I can say that this evening is very important to him. You should know that he put a lot of time and effort into making sure that everything was perfect.” Hermione felt her go back to arranging her hair, but she continued speaking. “So, while I can’t come out and say anything outright, I can say that you should think about what you know. He’s out there, likely wearing a hole in the floor as he waits for you, dressed up in a new suit. We’re in here, getting you all dressed up in a fabulous new outfit that he insisted upon buying for you. And he’s arranged to take you somewhere that even in your wildest dreams you wouldn’t have imagined. Fred is interested, very interested in you, and he’s doing all of this to show you how he feels.”

Ginny echoed Angie’s sentiments, but didn’t add much as the younger girl concentrated on the application of Hermione’s cosmetics.

Realising that was the most she was going to get out of her friends, she sat quietly, thinking about what she’d learned until they announced that they were done. She stood, trying to see her reflection, wanting to know how she looked.

With a firm hand on her arm, Ginny stopped her. “Not yet, you have to get dressed first. You should wait and see it all together. Let us take care of you.”

With a little huff, she allowed them to dress her like a doll. When the dress was zipped, jewellery in place, and the buckles fastened on the shoes, they permitted her to stand and see her reflection. She was speechless. The dress was simple, unadorned red with a scooped neck and cap sleeves. The hemline stopped just below her knees. It would have been conservative, boring even, if it wasn’t for the small slit running up the back and the way that it hugged her curves perfectly. The simple silver jewellery and light dusting of makeup accented the dress perfectly. 

“Thank you.” She turned to face her friends. “I feel beautiful.”

“Well, you’re gorgeous,” Angie smiled.

“Sexy,” Ginny corrected. “My big brother is going to swallow his tongue.” Looking down at her watch, the redhead grinned, “And we finished in record time. It’s only been fifteen minutes since you arrived. We’ll get out of here and give you a moment to collect your thoughts before you go out and see Fred.”

Calling out goodbyes, they exited the room, closing the door behind them. Hermione could hear them speaking to Fred, but couldn’t make out what they were saying. After a few minutes of pacing through her racing thoughts and nervous energy, she decided that she shouldn't keep him waiting any longer. Taking a deep breath, she walked into the hallway.

Still confused about where Fred was taking her, and why they were dressed like this, she returned to the sitting room where she knew he would be waiting. The flutter in her belly increased as she saw the way he looked at her when she entered the room. And suddenly she was hopeful that the feelings that she’d recently developed for him weren’t as one-sided as she’d feared.

He stood quickly. “Gods Hermione, you look stunning.” Crossing the room in two long strides, he took her hand, bringing it to his lips as his eyes met hers, and she felt her pulse leap. 

“You look handsome, yourself. I didn’t get the chance to say it before, but this suit looks wonderful on you. It’s not exactly your usual style though, is it?” She reached up, smoothing his lapel as she worked out how to get the answers that she needed. “Where would we go that you would need a gorgeous suit like this? I believe we have a few minutes before our Portkey leaves. Mind telling me where we’re going?”

Laughing, he shook his head. “Nice try, but it’s still a surprise. You’ll just have to wait patiently for a little while longer.” His smile softened, “Thank you, really. I know how hard it is for you to do anything without knowing all of the details. Thank you for trusting me, you have no idea how much that means to me. And I can’t wait until you see where we’re going.”

Hermione could feel the excitement radiating off of him. The realisation that he was so excited about doing something special for her made her stomach flip pleasantly. She truly couldn’t wait to see where this night would lead.

Just then, the ornate brass key that was sitting on top of the coffee table glowed blue. Fred picked it up and held it out for her to grab on. Taking the other end, she commented, “This is a fascinating choice for a Portkey. I’ve never seen something so fancy; usually it’s just an odd bit of rubbish.”

With an enigmatic grin that she couldn’t even begin to interpret, Fred reached for her free hand, lacing their fingers together as if he did it every day. “Yes, well, this one is special, innit?”

She wanted to have a witty comeback to that very frustrating answer, or even to be able to huff, or sigh in feigned annoyance. Unfortunately, just the simple act of him holding her hand was rendering her speechless.

Gods, what was wrong with her? Fred would begin to think that she didn’t want to be there with him if she couldn’t manage their usual banter. She had to get it together.

Thankfully, she felt the familiar tug behind her navel then. Soon they were landing, and she realised that they couldn't have gone far. The trip was much too quick, they had to still be in London somewhere.

As soon as she gathered her bearings, Hermione looked around trying to determine where they were. Strangely, it appeared to be a very posh office of some sort.

“Ah, Mr. Weasley, Miss Granger, welcome. I’m happy you could make it,” a masculine voice said from their right. 

Hermione turned to see who had addressed them and found a tall gentleman who appeared to be two or so years older than they were. Fred immediately stepped toward the man and extended a hand. “Mr. Clarke, it’s a pleasure to meet you. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate you doing this for us.”

“The pleasure is all mine. Please, call me Will.”

“Of course, Will. You must call us Fred and Hermione then.”

“Thank you, Fred.” He turned then and smiled in her direction. “Miss Granger, Hermione, I can’t tell you how pleased I am to meet you. I’m aware that you haven’t been informed about what you’re doing here, or even where you are, so I won’t keep you in the dark any longer. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to get permission to give you a full tour this evening. I promise to arrange for you to come back later for that. Tonight, you’ll have to make do with my office I’m afraid.”

The formality with which Fred had addressed this man left her reeling. Hermione was still trying to make sense of it all. Not knowing what to say, she simply replied. “Thank you, Will. I’m anxious to see what all of this is about.”

Will winked then, grinning a bit mischievously, and she could see that he must have a wonderful personality outside of this formal setting. “I didn’t mention before, but I’m the librarian in charge of the magical archives here at the Royal Library at Windsor Castle.”

Hermione’s mouth fell open. “Royal Library… Magical archives… What?” she stuttered.

Both Fred and Will laughed then, and she felt Fred’s arm wrap around her waist. Somehow, he’d arranged all of this — _for her_. Leaning into his embrace, she smiled up at him and whispered, “Thank you.” 

He didn’t answer, but he did pull her closer against his side.

“If you’ll follow me, I’ll show you what I’ve selected to share with you tonight.” Seeming to understand that she was beyond coherent speech at the moment, Will switched on what she recognised as lecture mode. Instantly she relaxed and listened intently as they followed him down a long corridor.

“Based on what I know about you, and my own experiences as a muggle-born coming into the magical world, I’ve selected a very special collection. I’m aware of your love of books, and I know that in a library you would expect to be shown a rare book. But I went with something else...”

He trailed off, stopping in front of an open door. Turning to face them, he smiled broadly. “Hermione, did you know that some books and works of art that are famous in the muggle world were actually created by witches and wizards?”

Hermione smiled back at him. “I’m aware that there are some, but from what I’ve learned, there isn’t anything truly famous, is there?”

Will’s eyes twinkled, and she knew that she was about to be proven wrong. Next to her, she could feel more than hear Fred’s low chuckle. “Actually,” Will said, adding a bit of a dramatic flair to his words, “there’s perhaps a bit more to it than you realise. You see, what often happens is, a work will become famous only in the muggle world, with the magical population ignoring it completely. And that’s exactly what happened in the case of this wizard, who became very famous indeed in the muggle world.”

She gave Will her full attention, drinking in every word. Practically vibrating with excitement, she nodded at him, hopeful that he would go ahead and let her see whatever wonderful treasures awaited her.

Finally, Will stepped aside, gesturing for them to enter the office. As they did, Hermione’s eyes were immediately drawn to what was obviously a long table that had been magically obscured from their view. She listened with growing excitement as Will instructed, “I needn't tell you that you may only look; touching is strictly forbidden. And, sadly, I can only give you an hour this evening. I do hope you enjoy it.”

With a flourish, he brandished his wand and the items on the table came into view. Hermione audibly gasped as she instantly recognised Leonardo da Vinci’s anatomical drawings. For the next hour, she studied and committed each work to her memory as Fred stayed next to her, silently, but with constant physical contact, reminding her of his presence. 

When the hour was up, Hermione had so many questions that she was itching to ask Will, but she also wanted to respect his wishes, as she realised that he’d given up his evening to set this up for them. So, she thanked him profusely and asked if there was a time that she could come back to talk to him, and have a tour of the library. He’d promised to owl her to set up a date that suited them both.

With that he handed them another Portkey, this one really was just a bit of rubbish, a broken rubber band, and they were whisked away. When they landed, Hermione could see that they were in a darkened alleyway. “Fred, where are we?”

“Well,” he grinned, “we’re in Covent Garden.” Gesturing toward the alley entrance, he added, “And just around the corner is The Ivy. We have a reservation in,” he glanced down at his watch, “fifteen minutes.” 

Her eyes flew up to meet his at the announcement. He had to have been planning this for at least a month, maybe longer to make reservations for tonight of all nights. He’d done all of this for her. 

“My parents used to bring me to The Ivy before we went to the theater.” Smiling up at him, she searched his gaze. And in that moment, she saw everything that she’d hoped for. Facing him fully, she drew her arms up and locked them around his neck. “How long have you been planning all of this?”

Even in the dark, she could see the tips of his ears turn adorably pink, and she felt him shift slightly. He cleared his throat before admitting, “I asked a few muggle-borns who are regulars at the shop for advice on a nice restaurant, and I used one of their mobile phones to make the reservations here sometime during the first week of January. I spoke to Percy that same week during Sunday roast, and he put me in touch with Will.”

“How on earth could you be certain that I would be off tonight? I typically work on Valentine’s Day.”

At that, his entire face and neck turned a vivid shade of red, and she knew that he hadn’t wanted her to ask that question.

“Urm, well, you see…”

“Did you do something to make sure I would be off?”

He sighed deeply. “Well, I might have bribed Healer Davies with a weekend in a nice Paris hotel if he switched shifts with you…” Trailing off, he watched her nervously. “Please don’t be upset that I interfered with your work. I just needed a way to make all of this happen. I needed it to be perfect for you. So that you would take me seriously when I told you how I feel about you.”

“How do you feel about me?” she whispered in a breathless voice that she barely recognised. Dropping her gaze to stare resolutely at his tie.

Reaching up a hand, he cupped her chin, tilting her face until her eyes met his once again. Then, without saying a word, he trailed his fingers lightly along the contour of her jaw. As she felt her heart rate increase, he brushed the pad of his thumb along her bottom lip, eliciting a shudder. Finally, he spoke, in a low tone. “I really fancy you, Hermione.” He shook his head. “Actually, it’s more than that, but I don’t want to scare you off if you don’t feel the same.”

“How much more, Fred? Because I more than fancy you too, I have for a very long time.”

His smile was brilliant as he exhaled on a sigh that sounded relieved. “So much more. Honestly, and it’s more than okay if you don’t feel the same... But I’m completely in love with you. I want a relationship with you, one that could lead to very long term arrangements between us.”

“Thank Merlin,” she breathed. “I’m in love with you too.”

“Really?”

“Yes, really,” she laughed as she rose up on her toes to do exactly what she’d wanted to do ever since she’d entered his flat and seen him dressed in that suit. The kiss was everything she hoped it would be. It started slowly, a tender caress of lips, then tongues, and she marveled in the way he pulled her close, molding her body to his. Soon their passion grew and they were fully snogging right there in the middle of the darkened alleyway. 

Fred drew back, resting his forehead against hers. Breathlessly, he huffed out a laugh. “I did not intend for our first kiss to happen here. Not the most romantic of surroundings.”

Giggling, she brushed a tiny kiss against his mouth. “I promise I didn’t mind.”

Almost reluctantly, Fred glanced down at his watch again. “Come on, love. We’ve got five minutes now. If we want to make that reservation, we need to get a move on.”

An idea formed quickly. As much as she loved going to The Ivy, she knew that it wasn’t going to be Fred’s idea of a good time, and because he’d gone to such lengths to do all of this for her, she wanted to do something for him. “Or, we could go pick up some fish and chips and take it back to my place. We could eat and spend the rest of the evening on my sofa, snuggling and snogging.”

“Seriously?” Fred’s face lit up with pleasure before he caught himself. “I mean, are you really sure? I wanted this night to be special for you.”

“It is special, beyond special; I promise. Let’s pop in and let them know that something came up and we can’t stay for our reservation. I’m sure they have people who are dropping in hoping for a table.”

Hand in hand, they left the alley. As they approached the restaurant, Hermione noticed another couple. The young woman stared longingly at The Ivy as they neared the entrance. Then the man spoke, “I’m sorry I couldn’t manage to get a table. I wish I’d been brave enough to ask you out sooner.”

The woman turned and smiled reassuringly. “It’s really okay. I’m just happy that you asked at all. Takeaway is fine, truly.”

Nudging Fred, she nodded in their direction. Immediately picking up on what she intended, he smiled and indicated his agreement with her plan.

“Excuse me,” Hermione said, as they approached the other couple, “we couldn’t help but overhear your conversation. And,” she smiled, “we have an offer for you. You see, we have a reservation that we were going in to cancel. We just had something come up and have to go back home. If you go inside and tell them that you’re the Weasley party of two, you’re welcome to our table.”

The woman sputtered, her eyes going round as she stared dumbstruck at Hermione. “Are you absolutely certain?”

At the same time, the man looked at Fred. “You’re not taking the Mickey, are you?”

Fred grinned at them. “Seriously mate, the table is yours if you want it. Just give the name Weasley. But,” he tapped his watch, “the reservation is now, so if you do want it, you should get inside.”

The couple exchanged a glance and then smiled and thanked them profusely before heading in. Hermione watched them go inside before turning to walk back toward the alley, intending to apparate back to her flat so they could walk down to her favorite fish and chip shop, which was conveniently located on her street. 

“Wait, just a few minutes,” Fred called. “There’s one more thing I want to do.”

They stood on the pavement for about ten minutes before Fred gestured toward the restaurant door. “Come inside with me for a second.”

“We already gave our table away, what are you doing?”

“You’ll see,” he winked.

Understanding that if she was going to be in any kind of relationship with Fred Weasley that she would have to learn to let go a bit, she shrugged and allowed him to lead her inside.

Fred approached the maitre d’ and, with his disarming smile in place, he spoke to the man confidently. “A couple by the name of Weasley came in here a few minutes ago. I’d like to pay for their meal, please. Is that possible?”

Hermione’s heart melted. If she hadn’t already been in love with the handsome redhead, that would have done it. Vaguely, she listened to the exchange as Fred handed over a muggle credit card and said that he could return the next day to sign the slip. 

As soon as the transaction was complete and they left the restaurant, Fred looked at her with the biggest smile. “That was amazing. This whole night has been perfect, but I really want to do that again. Can we?”

“Next year for Valentine’s Day, you want to make a reservation to give away, and then pay for the meal?”

“Yes, I really do. Is that okay with you? Or is it too presumptuous to assume that we’ll be together next year?”

“It’s not, it’s really not. And I love the idea, so much. All I want to know is what made you do it in the first place.”

“Well, I saw a quick moment of panic on that man’s face when he realised that they were eating there. I just wondered if maybe he couldn’t really afford the bill, but he didn’t want to disappoint his lady. And, well, I’ve been there. So, now that I can afford things, I like to help out sometimes.”

Hermione kissed him softly. “You have a good heart, Fred. That’s what made me fall in love with you. And I would love to do this again next year, and for however many years after that you’ll have me.”

  
  


****

And that’s how Fred and Hermione’s Valentine’s Day tradition was formed. Every year, they made a reservation at a popular restaurant weeks in advance, got dressed up, and waited outside the establishment until they could find a couple in need of their gift. Then they would go home, change into their pyjamas, and spend the evening eating fish and chips as they snuggled together on the sofa. 

  
  
  
  
  



End file.
